School Context and the Academic and Behavioral Progress of Students with Emotional Disturbance

Abstract

Lack of progress of children with emotional disturbance (ED) has begun to be documented in longitudinal school-based studies. Variability in these studies may be due to several factors, including widespread differences in academic, behavioral, and social functioning of these children, their special education status, and school contextual factors. In this study, 86 children were followed over a two-year period: children were drawn from three subgroups—children with ED receiving special education in low-income schools, children with ED receiving special education services in high-income schools, and children not receiving special education services but who were considered high risk for ED. Outcome measures included reading and math achievement along with ratings of behavioral progress. Despite initial differences in overall functioning, there was, almost without exception, no significant progress in any of the three subgroups over the course of a full academic year. This lack of progress was not related to the type of special education and related services that students received in self-contained or full inclusion programs. Results and implications are discussed regarding lack of response of children with or at risk for ED to intervention in both general and special education.